His Human Surrogate (Monsters Love Curvy Girls #2) - Michele Mills Page 0,42
get up from our bed without disturbing my female and shuffle out of the room in my green pajama pants. I make my way down the dragon stairs and into the kitchen, loving the utter quiet of early morning. The history embedded in every beam and brick fills my Hyrrokin fire soul with satisfaction.
I make sure the Traq dispenser is preprogrammed for the morning brew, because Chloe never remembers to do this for herself. She’ll show up, surprised it made her drink, thinking she must’ve remembered to program it, but she didn’t. I smile as I make my way back upstairs. I love tending to my female’s needs.
I go to the third floor and use the cleansing unit in my safe room. I have a cache of clothing that I’ve taken out of my closet. Chloe took everything out of the boxes and hung it up for me weeks ago, and then I went in and rearranged it to my liking and took what I needed upstairs.
Now that I’m clean, dressed and ready for the day, I open the door to my secret attic hideaway to do my normal perimeter check—and find a shrunken, elderly female grimly staring at me with an assessing gaze.
I halt in my tracks and wonder what fire and brimstone she is about to bring on my head.
“Grandma Narvi?” I question.
Her jaw clenches. Smoke unfurls from her ancient nostrils. “Bergelmir,” she replies with a like grinding rocks.
I glance around, confirming that she is alone. “Why are you up here?” I ask.
“Why are you in this domicile?” she replies.
Dammit, stalemate. This elder has always been the bane of my existence.
“Does the human know you’re back?” she growls.
I sigh with relief. She hasn’t told my female of my whereabouts. “No. No one does. They think I’m off planet.”
“Heh.”
“And I need it to stay that way. Don’t tell Chloe I’m here. Don’t tell anyone. It’s for their own safety.”
She thinks about that for a moment, then answers, “I will keep your secret, but in exchange I require information.”
I figured as much, so I nod and invite my great-great-grandmother inside my safe room. I close the door and we sit together on the edge of my rumpled bed and I quietly tell her everything. All of it. And actually, it feels good to have someone to speak to whom I trust.
That evening I find a surprising new message from my Chloe:
The tablet was enough. The bots were enough. Why did you also send me a vehicle? This is ridiculous. Berg, you’re already giving me too much. And you’re paying me three times the amount we’ve contractually agreed upon for this surrogacy. What are you doing?
Warmth spreads in my chest, knowing my Chloe has proper transportation. I decide to answer her right away, no delays. I race downstairs, skid to a stop outside her bedroom, answer from the hallway and hit send:
Chloe, I am tired of hearing from Aegir how you take an auto ride to appointments. You need your own vehicle to get where you need to go. I did not send you a new vehicle, it’s my own. It was in storage and I had it moved to my domicile for your temporary use.
I can hear her grunt of disapproval at my response. I smile. Actually, it is a brand new vehicle that I purchased specifically for her, but I am fine with letting her think it’s mine. It’s the exact same car that Riley uses, just in silver instead of black. I know that Chloe secretly loves that vehicle.
Are you as rich as Aegir? she accuses. Is this why you’re doing this?
I force myself to not laugh out loud. I’m pacing the hallway, so I must remain quiet. She’s delightful.
Almost, I answer. I’m almost as wealthy as Aegir. He’s the richest being on Tarvos. I’m the second richest being.
I hear her gasp from the bedroom. “No way,” she shouts. “Oh, I can’t believe this. This is terrible.”
Terrible? She’s upset to hear of my wealth?
While in the military I purchased a dormant flame field for cheap, only to have my financial intuition pay off when a rare underground fire was discovered there a few years later. The currency I received from that went towards starting my own security company, and I was also an early silent investor in my brother’s crazy-successful business.
She’s busy furiously typing a reply. Her answer lights up my screen.